Over the Limit
by Still Forgotten
Summary: His military standing temporarily revoked.A brother who doesn't remember him,and money that he desperatly needs but doesn't have,Ed sells the only thing still left to him.His body.Who's to guess what he's done?Possible EdRoy.ratings will go up.
1. going home

**A/n- Just give it a chance, please! It'll get better in the next chapter…I just had to set up the scene. ..

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Edward gazed emptily out the train's window, smiling despondently back at the girl from his childhood memories. Winry waved him off with a sad tight-lipped smile from behind the foggy window, just as she had done the last time… and the time before that. And now, it seemed to be getting harder and harder to leave behind these memories, and most hurtfully, Al. They had gotten the body back, but as Equivalent Exchange demanded, sacrifices had to be made, and this time, in the form of his little brother's memories. It had become too painful for Ed to look Al in the face, knowing deep inside that his little bother didn't remember him, and hearing the innocent voice tone the name "Ed", instead of "brother", or the occasional affectionate "Idiot". Sometimes it's more wounding to know the truth. Alphonse Rockbell sounded better than Alphonse Elric anyway. He was no longer one of the famous "Elric Brothers", because frankly, that was all in the past, and now, to Al, he was nothing more than the subdued boy who resembled himself, who's sad smile was ultimately washed away with a mask of stone.

"My, what a pretty face she has! Don't look so down, honey. You'll see her again, I'm sure. She must be your girlfriend, yes?" One of the blond attendants leaned forward to smile compassionately down at the boy, her hand resting tenderly on his shoulder. Only a couple months ago, he would have choked up and beaten the woman senseless for such unintelligent thoughts, but now, it just didn't matter anymore.

"Yeah, something like that." How was he supposed to explain anything that had happened anyway? How could she fathom the hurt attached to severing the last remnants to a childhood filled with blissful naivete? He hadn't noticed that the train had begun to progress forward, but now the landscape slid by outside the window, a vacuum, sucking away his past one last time. He wasn't planning on going back, not ever.

"Where you headed to, all by yourself?" Her tone was not judgmental or mocking, only for some reason unknown to Ed, was concerned, understanding. How could she understand what she couldn't possibly comprehend?

"I don't know yet. Maybe Central. I… know some people there who may remember me.

_Black hair and black eyes…a pile of paperwork, and an annoying smirk._

_The deadly gun, and the equally deadly owner. How many times did they have to hide under desks from it? From her?_

_The posse, with a little scrap of a soldier in glasses too large for his face, tagging along after them._

_Mustang._

_Hawkeye._

_Breda, Havoc, Fuery… Falman. The gang._

…_and maybe even the only family he had left._

Though he would never admit it, the military was the only place he could go back to now. The only people who would take him in without question, his second home.

"You're with the state." It wasn't a question. Ed's head snapped up to look at her amused eyes with his own startled orbs, and she smiled again, pointing pertly at the small pocket watch that he had all but disregarded. It was his memories, a keepsake of a life forgotten, that he carried with him always, if only because Al didn't have any of his own.

"Once upon a time, yeah, I was." He looked back out of the window, involuntarily running his fingers over the smooth and familiar textures. "They don't remember me anymore though. It's," he paused a second before continuing. "It's been a while." Only a matter of a year or so, really, but the military had played out what they needed from the two brothers, and it was possible that in that time they had become unserviceable. Thrown away just as carelessly as a child's toy, but in the end, that's all they had ever been. Puppets of the military, dancing into the hands of the operator, and even then, only on command. He still remembered the excuse they gave the as they walked out the door on their last search for the stone. They would only be gone a couple months or so. Research, they had called it then. Despite ample warning, they hadn't come back. What more did they have to lose?

"You know," Anneka, as the nameplate on her uniform declared in a neat bolt type, rested a delicate finger on her chin in a gesture of ponderance. "I saw some men in uniform board only a couple stations ago. They may still be here, if you'd like me to check. My, What a lively troop they were, waving those watches around to anyone passing! Green as grass, and their uniforms still crisp from the factory."

Ed smiled thinly in acknowledgment to the woman's attempts to lighten the mood.

"Thank for the offer, but I'll pass. I still need to think up some sorta good excuse to shove down the Colonel's throat when I get back-"

The door to their last compartment slammed open with such impact that the windows rattled their protest, and it was a wonder that they stayed intact.

"Edward Elric, Fullmetal Alchemist?" The speaker, obviously a soldier of low rank and a high air of confidence strode into the room, crumbs from an discernibly hastily eaten lunch falling randomly from his chin and crumpled uniform to litter the floor in clumps.

"Speak of the morons. And here they are, in the flesh." Still not standing from his window seat position, Edward tilted his head to allow for a better view of the man and the two other soldiers flanking him.

"Edward Elric?" The man sniffed airily, more crumbs falling off his face almost in tune with his movements.

"Yeah, that's me. Or it was last time I checked, anyway. Who's asking?" One eyebrow raised ever so slightly, completing a bored air of languor.

"Fullmetal Alchemist, by order of the Fuhrer, we're placing you under arrest as of now for violating the Alchemist's code, section 1.75 B, which I believe falls under the category of _Human Transmutation._ We're taking you back to Central with us for further investigation."

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**A/n- I'm really interested in finishing this, but in order to do that, I need some feedback! Did you like it? No? Why or why not? Should I start over, or just forget the idea? Again, just give me a chance, and I'll prove it CAN get better! Please stick with me here!**

**-Tasha**

**(I'm the evil cousin…buahahaha! Fear me!)**


	2. Unexpected reunion

**A/n- OMG! Thanks for all of you who reviewed! I got some EXCELLENT feedback, and for all of you who checked up just to tell me how you thought this was going, thanks so much! I wasn't planning on going anywhere with this, but I feel so positive now! I'm gunna smack the hammer down on poor Ed…but it about 12:30, so I'm off to bed. Haha. :-)

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Roy Mustang was _not_ in a forgiving mood. Of course, any day upon having woken up to recall reeling and passing out in front of your subordinates while they laughed your drunk ass into the floor, was no day at all to be in a lenient frame of mind.

"And who the _hell_ let me into the office while I was…" Roy searched for the right word to sensitively describe the stupidity of last night. "…under the influence of an intoxicating substance?"

"Hell, colonel. You were three sheets to the wind and tanked up for more." Roy wondered how the man could effectively speak around the cigarette in his mouth, and actually gave serious contemplation to whether or not the end was soggy from all the usage.

"If you don't learn some DAMN respect, Havoc, and soon, I'll help along your destined lung cancer by roasting you up another cancer stick. I might end up torching your face and anything else attached, but that's a risk I'm willing to take." To prove his point, the alchemist raised a gloved hand poised for snapping, smirking smartly as the occupants of the room surged towards the door.

…But of course the door had just flung open, sending officers close to it flying all throughout the room.

"Hey Roy!" Somehow, Hughes didn't _have_ to be holding a photograph to give rise to dread. "Yanno, I heard just the _craziest _thing today. Word around Central is that-"

"Hughes…"

"I mean, did you _really-_"

"_Hughes_."

"Gee, you must have been _pretty_ shit faced last night to even _consider_-"

"HUGHES!" Everyone in the room took a cautious step backwards as sparks began jumping randomly from the man's fingertips. "Hawkeye, you have my permission and utmost encouragement to shoot anyone who takes so much as _one_ step into this room-"

SLAM!

…And of course, the door flew open once more.

For three entire seconds of bliss, nothing happened. Then quite abruptly, and undoubtedly unexpectedly, a tornado of blue and white military uniforms discharged itself into the room, kicking and screaming in a match to rival complete chaos.

"Cowards! Just give me a chance and I'll whip the piss out of you!"

The previous occupants of the room froze.

That voice…

"Somebody sedate the damn kid already!"

So familiar…

"…Ed…" Hawkeye stepped slightly forward, staring unbelieving into the focal point of the brawl. "…ward…?" The whisper, barely audible, went entirely unnoticed throughout the room in a blur of black and blue.

"Hold him down!" A sterile needle was forced down into the boy's arm for the fraction of a second it took to inject the fluids into his blood flow before he jerked away, leaving a shallow cut where the metal had pulled away.

"Fullmetal!" Roy was the first to regain his composer, the other officers still left in a flummoxed daze.

The teen was already slowing down as the sedatives took their toll on his system, swaying slightly, even in the firm grasp of two of the men who had brought him in. He looked straight into the older alchemist's eyes, or would have, if his own weren't beginning to become unfocussed and hazy.

"Bastard…would expect… of course it was you who… couldn't leave me in…peace… could you?…Bringing me here like this… Damn it, _colonel!_" And with that, the golden haired youth slumped into the soldier's arms, already in a heavy stupor.

"Sir!" One of the men hastened over to the colonel who still hadn't taken his eyes off the boy who had once again managed to stumble back into his life so suddenly, and snapped a perfect salute.

"Privet Grace." The soldier grinned in response, obviously new to the field, and Roy noticed the cut on the young man's brow still bleeding. On closer inspection, most of the men, with exceptions to the newcomers who had congregated towards the commotion, sported similar such cuts and bruises, one man holding his arm in an awkward angle, waiting for someone to tend it.

"Quite the handful this one is! We got orders to bring him back, and the papers say he's signed out under your command, so now he's _your_ burden, not ours." Privet Grace looked almost relieved as the words left his lips.

"Who sent you?" Roy had now turned his penetrating glare to the man, his eyes all but reflecting the fire he manipulated.

"Well, the Fuhrer said-"

"Where did you find him?"

"Well…" The soldier began shaking under the man's intense scrutiny.

"Answer me, dammit!"

"It- it was an accident, really, sir. On the train we-"

"His brother. Was there anyone else with him? A suit of armor maybe?"

"N-no…it was just him…"

"You're absolutely sure?"

"Sir, calm down. You're scaring the poor boy." The alchemist snapped around, only to find himself face to face with Hawkeye, merely inches from his shoulder like a loyal dog to its master. But wasn't that what they all came to equal out to in the end? The same loyal hounds that Edward so despised, so hated, and in his own way, refused to become? With a bitter look at the unconscious boy now slung over some random man's shoulder, Mustang sighed.

"Very well. You did good soldier," he supplied grudgingly to the man, who hastily snapped a salute, did an instant 180, making a beeline for the door, throwing a hasty "Thank you sir!" over his shoulder before disappearing behind the corner. That was of course the correct reaction, to say in the least, when the Flame Alchemist's snapping fingers began to twitch uncontrollably and without restraint.

"Sir." Riza motioned ever so slightly with her head, jerking towards the cause of the fray, currently in the form of a blond headed alchemist.

"Hawkeye." The woman straightened, as if he had only just taken notice of her presence. "Take crowd control. We can't have idiots infesting the room with their idiocy."

"Right away, sir." For a moment he watched as she took control of the situation at hand, her voice rising above the others with orders of stringent force, but when her hand reached for her gun, her new and _shiny_ gun, he shuddered and turned towards the large and bulky man in current possession of the Fullmetal. It took no more than a twitch of his head to gain the soldier's full attention, and a second nod at the office door.

"This way."

There was a back room, mainly a storage room for unfinished and forgotten paperwork, not that he would ever tell Hawkeye about it, but for some reason, it seemed suitable for the boy. Furnished with a desk overflowing with mounds of paperwork and a single small couch that now contained a single small alchemist, it was the only sensible place to lay the unconscious teen.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, sir." Roy looked up from his search for the release point of the shackles that forced Edward's hands apart, to face his silent shadow. Riza sighed. "You know how reckless he gets when he's confused, and just a guess, but I'm not sure he's too happy with the situation he's in now." There was a fraction of a second's pause before-

"Something's wrong." She stiffened. They both knew it, but it was only a matter of getting around to it.

"Sir?"

"His arm." He pulled up the sleeve of the red jacket to reveal an obvious metallic limb. "Either the transmutation I assume they performed didn't work, or there wasn't enough energy for him. And Alphonse is missing."

"You don't think-"

"No, he's not dead. Sometimes I wonder if it would be possible for one to operate without the other, but no, he's not _dead._"

"So what do you think?"

"Look at him Hawkeye, and tell me that he hasn't changed." She didn't need to look again. It was obvious to anyone that he had changed. The dark shadows under his eyes were telltale marks of exhaustion, and the pain in those eyes when they were open… it was nearly unbearable. His hair was unkempt, still in the confines of his sloppy braid, but ruffled, as if he had slept that way without washing or brushing it for days.

"Give me a moment, Hawkeye," the man muttered, not looking the woman in the eyes as he knelt next to the sofa and the boy occupying it. "It's been a long time…"

The woman faded out the door, and he listened to the hushed tones of the Lieutenant talking to the soldier who had carried Ed in, as the boy on the couch shifted from unconsciousness into the troubled dreams of true sleep. He may not get the most desired dreams, but sleep was now a sine qua non (1) for him to continue to bear the burdens of life.

"…tomorrow." The man listened carefully, a frown furrowing his brow.

"But that's too soon! He won't be ready-" Hawkeye's voice was sharp and cutting, but low enough to prevent eavesdropping. Of course, it wasn't exactly _eavesdropping_ if she was talking loud enough to be heard. Roy couldn't help that. He smirked, loving the feeling of being on top of things intentionally.

"Fuhrer's orders, ma'am. I only deliver 'em. 'Sides, that kid's in deep shit as it is."

"What could he have done that's so important that the military would try to hide it from us? Let me remind you that the colonel is his commanding officer. Edward _reports strictly_ to _us._"

"I dunno much about this alchemy stuff. Never was really big on it myself. I'm just the normal guy on the block, but it had something to do with, uh, Human…transportation."

"Transmutation?" Nothing new there. Couldn't they say something that hadn't been said a dozen times before?

"Yeah, that's it. Coupled with some assault to military personnel…" If Edward was tried every time he assaulted a person, he would get the electric chair… or something more painful and longer lasting.

"That's it?"

"Don't tell nobody, but," The man's voice lowered to the extent that Mustang had to strain to hear his hushed tones. "I hear he created one of them clone things that comes with a transmutation. That there," he confided quietly, "is the life sentence, if not death, it is." The colonel could almost see him nodding to himself, the lieutenant's hands over her mouth in a rare display of unveiled shock.

_Edward Elric would be tried for death, under the premises of creating a homunculus…of Al?_

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_**1. Some people were asking about the meaning of this word, and it's pretty much like "Essential" or "necessary". An essential condition or prerequisite.Yanno? I believe that it's taken from part of Latin meaning literally "without which (cause) not".**_

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**Review please? . It would totally help me keep going. I know I know! Kinda sad for the second chapter, but… I have to set things up a little bit more…it's not like I go- POOF! Ed's a whore! …We have to wait till my warped mind sorts out HOW we shall make him that way. I love manipulating him. Sick, huh? Anyway, will you please tell me what you think? Keep going or stop? Any large errors? Wanna give me a taco:-p THANKS SO MUCH GUYS! I heart your support:-)**

**-Ally and Malli here! We're sharing this chappy, cause our cousin can't write for crap!…We kinda edited it a little bit a lot, and it's better, no?**


	3. That damn colonel!

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**Over the Limit

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**A/N- Hey! I wanted to thank allmy reviewers, but a special shout out for _Kitty Meow_ for being the only person who reviewed last chapter. I was so happy with all the kind things people said in my first chappy, and then nobody reviewed, and I was very sad. :-( And to top it off, my horse is mad at me, and I have shaving cuts on my legs. Damn.**

**Anyway, I'm not sure if I should just end this fichere, or if I should go on… If you're still interested in this, will yuh drop me a note so I know I'm writing for SOME one? I was so sad last time. Now my pocky tastes like tears. All 12 boxes. Okay, on with the slightly larger chappy!

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It wasn't the first time that he had peered through the obstructively diminutive window joining the two rooms at the younger blonde alchemist. In fact, it would have been the last if he had stopped promising himself that the next time was final. Mustang watched the impractical teen with the comings of a headache as the boy's angry pacing wore away the flooring. He sighed, steepling his fingers and resting his throbbing forehead on them, gratefully thanking his lucky stars for keeping the restraints on the boy. He smirked, rolling his head back towards the window. For the last time, he had assured himself.

…Only to meet smoldering odium filled eyes glaring back at him. He held the scorching glare for all of three seconds before casting his uneasy gaze back to the work at hand. He had never been the last man standing, anyway. Only the soft padding of footsteps on the reverse side of the wall stood for suggestible indication that the teen had resumed his persistent pacing.

Back and forth…

Back and forth…

It was driving the raven haired man's last nerve into suicide.

"Fuuuuck," came the alchemist's exceedingly and decidedly intelligent retort.

"You could always go talk to him, boss." Havoc once again astounded him with his ability to speak legibly around his cigarette.

"You have to, sir, if you want to make him presentable in court today." Hawkeye's voice carried a worse threat than her gun, or any of the silver bullets probably stored in its barrel.

"Presentable? The kid hasn't worn anything but what he has on now since he was…" Roy made an undecided face, moving his hands up and down through the air. "…little…r…" Half the office personnel instinctually swiveled in terror towards Ed, who had obviously not heard the remark in the adjoining room. "In any case, what would I do? Give him a brush, and offer to tie his hair up in pink ribbons?"

"_Now_ would be a good time, colonel."

Roy sighed, tossing one last uneasy glance at the Lieutenant over his shoulder. If there had ever been a Golden Age in the office, it was just about to end… and in a rather bloody confrontation too.

"Why me?"

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The smell hit him first. At least, before Edward could get around to it. The scent of body odor hung strongly in the air, but it was possible that days had gone by without the boy having showered. He had to hand it to the kid though. The few kicks that Roy hadn't managed to dodge in time were well aimed, and hurt like hell on impact. He sighed as another blow landed on his hip.

"Give it up, Fullmetal. You're only tiring yourself."

"And you, you fat bastard," he hissed back, lashing out at the alchemist once more.

"But," the man smirked. "_I'm_ not the one off balance." He pushed forward, closing the distance between the two and forcing himself past kicking range. With a calculated leg sweep he upended the teen on his back, pinning him to the ground by sheer weight. "Shackles are a bitch, huh? Totally throws off your stability." He could feel the boy's heavy breath on his cheek, the wooden restraints pressing uncomfortably into his ribcage as they fought to catch their breath on the ground. The teen struggled for a few seconds to no avail, gripping the colonel's shirt and any skin attached with his pinned hands, digging into the man's stomach flesh with his fingers.

"Get _off_ me you fat jackass!"

"A pleasant surprise to see you here too, Fullmetal. I don't recall giving you authorization to go gallivanting anywhere and everywhere taking your own sweet time to return. Really now, I don't have to keep you pinned to Central all the time do I?"

Edward remained quiet, finally giving up any attempts at a struggle, his head turned sideways to glare at the wall. Anywhere but up into those mocking black eyes.

Undisturbed by the silence, Mustang continued.

"I take it you found what you were looking for? But where is your brother? You wouldn't have left-"

"Dammit, don't you _dare_ talk about Al as if you knew what was going on!" So he had hit a weak spot. But the pain in his eyes…how did you know when to keep pushing, and when to just let go and move on? Roy Mustang was used to dealing with the enemy. With Hawkeye and the other impossible subordinates. With men and with women. With Grown ups. Adults. Never with children. So he pushed.

"I have a right to know. He is as much my concern as yours."

"You _don't know!_"

"So you did perform the transmutation. What happened?"

"Dammit, Shut up!"

"I'll learn somehow, but I'd like to hear it from you. Did he lose limbs, like you?" Edward thrashed under the man, his hands long numbed by the mass on top of him, growling low in his throat. "His voice?"

"I said shut up!"

"His hearing?"

"No, you dumb bastard! You leave Al out of-"

His… memories?"

Everything went deathly still. The rigid body he had pinned jerked slightly, then it too became inflexible.

"Oh." Mustang's voice was soft, and even he could tell he had gone too far. "Look, I didn't know… I'm sorry…" He stood up, giving the boy some room to stand, and when he wouldn't sit up on his own, the older man helped him into a sitting position on the floor.

"Look at me, Fullmetal." He turned his head obediently, and Roy felt something inside him churn when he saw the boy's eyes. They were empty. Of soul. Of hope. Of life. The fire that had burned in them only moments before had died, where not even ashes were left to smolder.

"I'm sorry. I-"

"Just leave it. It doesn't matter anymore," he whispered through numbed lips.

Mustang shook his head and cleared his throat. "Come on. We have to get you ready for your trial."

They stepped out of the room, Hawkeye shooting the man a questioning glance as they passed by, Edward tagging along after him like a lost puppy that had been kicked away one too many times.

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"I don't know, _Fullmetal Alchemist._ You leave me in a very awkward position here. The military appreciates what you've done for us in the past, but your previous actions were _strictly forbidden._" The Fuhrer looked down at the few assembled officers who had come to stand by Ed through the trial. "You know the penalty." There were scattered moans throughout the group, and Hawkeye's hand made it's way reassuringly to the teen's shoulder. "I would give you a moment to state your case and prove your innocence."

Edward said nothing, not meeting the inquiring and urgent glances thrown at him from the onlookers, and the steady gaze of the Fuhrer.

"If you have nothing more to say, Fullmetal, then this will conclude the case..."

"Edward, _say something!_" Hawkeye's breath was hot against his neck as he shook his head ever so slightly. It didn't matter what happened now. Hadn't he once told Al that he was the only reason worth living? The only reason worth breathing? He had paid his debt and returned Al to his body, now his life was free to live without holdups, for however long that may be. Mustang had only opened his eyes to the fact that he would never, _never_ truly get Al back. Not without a sacrifice he was unwilling to pay.

"Fullmetal, we are all without question regretful that this course of action must be carried out, but it's the dictum of the military to be fair, and we could not possibly surpass age old regulations and degrade the lives of others in similar state of affairs. We'll hold the execution until such time as…" a censorious murmur ran through the crowd, halting when the Fuhrer took his next breath. "…tomorrow."

"Sir, if I may?" The colonel stood up, face set and teeth gritted…not in his best of moods. Maybe he shouldn't have had so much booze the night before…

"Name your request, Flame Alchemist."

"With all due respect sir, he's just a child." The hairs rose on the back of his neck as he felt not only the eyes of the surrounding bystanders, but a pair of intense golden orbs burning into his back.

"He's a military official," the Fuhrer stated clearly. "And he shall be treated no differently."

"Then give us time to detain and annihilate the homunculus he created. Do you not agree that he should be the one to clean up the mess he made?"

Silence. And then-

"True. I place him under your command until then. Do as you see fit, and if he runs, he will be classified a traitor, and we deal with him as such." He smiled suddenly. "Those homunculi are quite slippery, or so I hear. I'll give you a generous amount of time to work on this case. I think a year should do it, so as not to interfere with the coming assessments and preparation. Any objections?"

"Dammit, no-" a cold hand was pressed against the blonde's mouth, stifling any sentences he could have strung together.

"Thank you, sir. We are indebted to your kindness, and I'm sure we'll have everything under control to your satisfaction." Mustang saluted and turned, the rest of the officers dispersing through the door after him, cheers of congratulation sent to the only person in an infelicitous sulk.

Why couldn't they just have let it go?

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Edward stepped into the room to the roar of congratulations from all of thesoldiers he had come to regard with respect over the years. But not for the first time, he paid them no heed as he made his way to the familiar vile door. Without bothering to knock, or even publicize his arrival, he stormed through that same vile doorway to come face to face with the vile colonel.

…who was, of course, busy neglecting his paperwork as he tipped back on the two legs of his chair, feet propped on the desk (of dirty and incomplete paperwork) staring senselessly into the ink tube inside his pen.

"Dammit! What the _fuck_ did you do?" Mustang raised an eyebrow to the teen's vociferous demand and righted the chair onto its four legs, glancing uninterestedly at the person in front of his desk.

"Well, I had lunch about five minutes ago, and then Lieutenant Hawkeye found me and kindly forced me back in here and-"

"That's not what I meant, _colonel._"

"In any case, it's nice to see you so perky and… lively… at the moment, Fullmetal." He sniffed the air. "And clean. You really were beginning to stink, you know."

"Tell him to take it back! I'm _not_ going to be chained to _you_ for another year." He didn't mention the double of Al he had to destroy. He couldn't. Wouldn't it be like killing Al himself? Impossible.

"You're not in a good mood right now, are you?"

"You don't miss a thing."

"Are you _trying_ to aggravate me today?"

"No. It comes naturally."

Roy sighed. "What do you want, Fullmetal?" When he looked back up at the teen, the fire had died down from the boy's golden eyes as he shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Why?"

The man snorted. "Why what?"

"Why the hell couldn't you just leave me to…" the younger alchemist caught on his words before trying again. "I just wanted to… You could have left me…"

"To die?"

"That's not what I said!" And there was that recognizable flare of anger again. Maybe anger was better than nothing. At least it proved the kid had a will. A will to destroy or to hate, maybe, but then again, maybe a will to live. Something is always better than nothing.

"But the thing is, Fullmetal, that's what you meant. And in answer to your understandably tactless question, you are a subordinate under my command, and it would look extreme on my rather flawless record should anyone working under me be executed disgracefully." He let out a breath, debating whether or not to continue. "But then, I also have an obligation to defend my acquitted subordinates, and I do believe you fall under that category."

"All you care about is a good mark on your record."

"Haven't you been listening? It's more than just-"

"And did you have the same feeling for everyone one of those soldiers that you _murdered_ during the war? Duty has nothing to do with your actions, _sir._"

"You don't know what you're talking about, kid." The colonel's voice was dead quiet, his eyes hidden by the bangs he allowed to fall over his face in strands.

"Or maybe you didn't care, as long as the higher-ups patted you on the head and told you 'good boy'?"

"I'm your commanding officer, and I _gave you an order._ Leave my office. Now." Flames licked at the man's protective gloves, dancing almost like playful children around his fingers, awaiting the command to spring into action.

"Not until you tell the Fuhrer-"

"LEAVE!" The trash bin exploded in an angry blaze beside the blonde teen, who replicated the man's cold smirk.

"I might remind you that I'm also a state alchemist." He brought his two hands together. One metal, one flesh, meeting in the center of his face. "And if you want to fight me…" he looked the older man in the eyes, a look of cruel humor playing in his own. "…then let's go for it."

"And I might remind _you_, _Fullmetal_, that I have ultimate say in whatever you do. I can make it so you couldn't so much as piss without my say so." The flames died down as his grin widened and his eyes narrowed. "Leave now, before I make you're life a lot more… complicated."

"Right, you dumb _bastard._ But this isn't over. Don't expect a good mark on your record this time." Edward grabbed for the door handle, but stopped short as the snug voice amplified behind him.

"I think you're forgetting something, kid."

"What the hell do you want _now?_"

"Your watch. You can leave it here. I think it's time that you stop acting like a spoiled _brat_ and try working for a living…you know, like most children your age do."

"…"

"I'm temporarily revoking your state license."

"What? You can't-"

"You still report to me _on time_, and we still have a mission to carry out, but until then, you try living life without getting everything you want by flashing a hunk of metal on a piece of chain." He grinned and flicked his own watch, returning to his paperwork. "Dismissed."

As Edward turned to leave, he let his smirk fall to pieces, and cradled his head in his hands, suddenly tired. And there was that same nagging sensation in his chest. An impossible combination of emotions raging together… the same reaction he had felt before standing up at the trial. He didn't want the teen to leave. Didn't want to see him go.

And the door slammed shut behind Edward.

Had he gone too far?

* * *

**A/N- Yay! So I made it a little extra long on request of _Kitty Meow_…but sorry it wasn't longer! Anyone else have any sorts of requests about what they want to happen? Again, I'd love some feedback! Did I disappoint anyone? Everyone? Anyone want me to just hurry the story along to the juicy stuff? Thanks guys!**

**Oh, and has anyone heard that "Brat'ya" song from FMA sung in English by Vic Mignogna? I was listening to it over and over and over…he has such a nice singing voice! And speaking voice, when he's acting out Edward. If you haven't heard it, OMG, you have to! If you're looking for a place to download it, contact me, and I have a webby that's safe to use. You can also find another (even better, I think) song by him called "Far from Home" there. Such talent!**

**Okay, ONE last thing...I promise! I really have nothing to do after work, and I was wondering if anyone wanted me to draw them a piccy? I don't do anime anymore, but I'm alright with realistic. If you want samples of my work, ask me, and I'll give you my webby address. I love drawing. :-) THANKS! I will love you like a firey passionate fireball...before it explodes and kills off all the dinosaurs. Except a little less firey...and kinda more shiny, because shiny rocks my socks. Luv yah!**

-Tasha (Am I really that evil?)


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